British, Modern Restaurants in St Leonards
1. Cambium
British, Modern restaurant in Brockenhurst
Lyndhurst Rd - SO42
2023 Review: ‘Dylan James’s dishes pay homage to the British countryside, and embrace the nature of the seasons’ – well that’s what the website says! – at this “lovely restaurant in a beautiful hotel”: a New Forest destination that started life as a royal hunting lodge and is nowadays a luxurious spa complex. Reports in our annual diners’ poll agree, all of them applauding its attractive, light interior and brasserie food from an all-day menu that’s “carefully cooked, and good value”.
2. Arbor Restaurant, The Green House Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Bournemouth
4 Grove Rd - BH1
A central wood installation of a tree helps add validity to the name of this seaside hotel dining room. Chef Andy Hilton produces a relatively upmarket brasserie menu framed around ‘bay, barn and butcher’ and results are consistently well-rated.
4. The Jetty
British, Modern restaurant in Christchurch
95 Mudeford - BH23
This “top spot” – a modern, glass-walled venue with a terrace for outdoor dining at a “lovely location on Christchurch Harbour” (in the grounds of the Harbour Hotel and with superb views) – is an ideal showcase for chef Alex Aitken’s “consistently high-quality, locally sourced seafood”.
5. Chewton Glen
British, Modern restaurant in New Milton
Chewton Glen Rd - BH23
“Five-star service and food on the South Coast”, say fans of this “special” venue – a famous Relais & Châteaux property, set in gorgeous grounds on the edge of the New Forest and 30 minutes’ drive from Bournemouth: the “perfect hotel to be spoilt in with its lovely summery restaurant and first-class staff”. Perennial gripes about high prices here were absent this year, and Luke Matthews’s cuisine won nothing but praise. Top Tip – “The lunch menu is very good value”; and “the quality and quantity of afternoon tea here is so very impressive – we didn’t need dinner!!”
6. The Three Lions
British, Modern restaurant in Stuckton
Stuckton Rd - SP6
2022 Review: “Amazing food and friendly service” characterise this “impressive” restaurant on the edge of the New Forest, run for more than 20 years by chef Mike Womersley (ex-Lucknam Park) and his wife Jayne. “The ambience has been transformed by a refurbishment – a welcome surprise since our last visit”.
7. Captain's Club Hotel & Spa
British, Modern restaurant in Christchurch
Wick Ferry, Wick Lane - BH23
2023 Review: “A wonderful waterside location” is the crown jewel feature of this “relaxed and unhurried” modern hotel dining room – the location overlooking boats on the Stour “makes the restaurant a romantic venue and if weather permits being seated outside is a bonus”. “Lovely food” too – “well presented and reasonably priced”.
8. Restaurant Roots
British, Modern restaurant in Southbourne
141 Belle Vue Road - BH6
“Still blown away with Jan & Stacey’s ability to deliver top-quality food and service” is a typical report on the Bretschneiders’ very focused small restaurant, now in its ninth year. Berlin-born Jan’s “very personal” tasting menu (eight courses for £95 per person, or twelve courses for £150 per person), which is also available in a “wonderful veggie version”, comes “with notes about his childhood that led to the thought process behind the dish”. The couple have also opened the more casual (but still ambitious) Cork & Lobster next door.
9. The Kitchen at Chewton Glen
British, Modern restaurant in New Milton
Chewton Farm Road - BH23
“Showing that the food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good” – fans applaud the “great menu of varied choices” in the relaxed alternative eatery of this famous country-house hotel, whose menu line-up includes posh burger and pizza options. The addition was completed a few years ago and is an attractive modern space with pitched roof, whose features include views over the kitchen gardens, an outdoor terrace and a cookery school overseen by James Martin. An “ideal venue for a special occasion – expensive, but worth it”.
10. Branksome Beach
British, Modern restaurant in Poole
Pinecliff Rd - BH13
2022 Review: A “beautifully situated restaurant” in an Art Deco solarium overlooking Poole Harbour, and where “drinks on the upper deck are an extra delight”. One or two off reports on the food front this year, but also plenty of plaudits for its “really good breakfasts and lunches”, and “service has improved” of late too.
11. Pebble Beach
French restaurant in Barton-on-Sea
Marine Drive - BH25
This “excellent beachside restaurant” from experienced chef Andy Waters – one of the few in Britain to have worked under the late, great Paul Bocuse in Lyons – has a fitting focus on “good fish”, alongside classic pasta dishes and steaks. The terrace has lovely views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.
12. The Museum Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Farnham
2023 Review: This “brilliant thatched country pub” has “lots of game dishes” on its menu – appropriately enough for a traditional establishment in the historical hunting landscape of Cranborne Chase. “Vegetarians and vegans are well provided for” too, while there’s also a “well-stocked bar with local ales and a reasonably priced wine list”.
13. Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Milford-on-Sea
98 High St - SO41
“Constantly innovative, super-fresh fish dishes” from chef-patron David Wykes have established this “small, warm space” with an in-house fishmonger as a true “destination restaurant”, invariably hailed as a “great discovery” by first-time visitors. The “outstanding tasting menus” are presented in an unusual format, with guests nominating the number of courses but not their content. They arrive with “imaginative accompaniments” and “charming, attentive service”.
14. The Pig
British, Modern restaurant in Brockenhurst
Beaulieu Road - SO42
“The setting is off the charts” at the New Forest original of Robin Hutson’s shabby-chic country house hotel group (which was sold to private equity in late 2022) – “a beautiful manor house with incredible gardens and a fascinating, walled kitchen garden”. “Finally made it here for my wife’s birthday this year: we’ll definitely be returning!”. The food (better rated this year) is generally considered “fine” or better, albeit “with the continuous expansion of the chain, the meals become a little more hotel-like – though we certainly enjoyed our visit”.
15. Spot in the Woods
British, Modern restaurant in Woodlands
174 Woodlands Rd, Netley Marsh, New Forest - SO40
2021 Review: “TerraVina’s resurrection” – “in its new guise as a boutique B&B and café” – “has become a real favourite in the beautiful New Forest”. Founder Gerard Basset, the famed wine expert behind the original Hotel du Vin, died in January 2019 after a two-year fight against cancer, and his widow Nina has kept the business going. There are “no evening meals now, but breakfasts and lunches are splendid” and “in summer it’s lovely to sit in the garden”.
16. Samphire at Stanwell House
British, Modern restaurant in Lymington
14-15 High Street - SO41
“The new kid on the block”, this ambitious new restaurant opened in November 2022 in a “boutique hotel on Lymington’s High Street” that had been closed for a year-long renovation. It has quickly established a solid reputation for its “simply prepared and beautifully presented fish, straight from the local boats”.
17. Elderflower
British, Modern restaurant in Lymington
4-5 Quay St - SO41
“A set selection with superb balance of flavours and textures” (with options “you might not ordinarily choose”) makes for “very interestingly presented and great-tasting food” (“we even ate a tulip!”) according to fans of the “amazing tasting menus” at Andrew & Marjolaine du Bourg’s “professional” fine-dining venue in a pretty cobbled street, near the harbour. “Too many elements on a plate” can leave some diners feeling “confused”, though (“lovely people, who are trying very hard but we thought the food was unnecessarily complicated”).
18. The Cliff in Poole
British, Modern restaurant in Sandbanks
6 Ravine Road - BH13
2023 Review: This “nice gastropub with large gardens” has undergone a dramatic £800,000 refurb since our annual diners’ poll, to be reborn with cocktail bar-style décor replacing the traditional pub interior, and fitted seating with cushions in the 100-seater garden. The new menu replaces standard 3-course meals with a globally inspired selection of small plates.
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